Trade Deadline Looming

There has been far more trade activity in the weeks leading up the trade deadline than is traditional in the NHL. The Flyers have already made their big move by getting Versteeg, but look for them to try and add a depth defensemen at low cost. Perhaps for Zherdev?

After watching Jody Shelley dress over healthy scratch Nik Zherdev - and his 15 goals - twice in the last week, many were left wondering whether we have seen the last of Zherdev in a Flyers uniform.

Some rumors had the Flyers waiving Zherdev and his $2 million salary to create room under the salary cap. Another rumor, from Russian reporter Dmitry Chesnokov, said yesterday that six NHL teams have contacted the Flyers about obtaining Zherdev's services before next Monday's trading deadline.

"I must have missed those calls," Paul Holmgren deadpanned.

Despite missing 12 games this season as a healthy scratch, Zherdev would still lead the Ottawa Senators in scoring. That's an insurance policy Holmgren won't exactly give away, in case of injury.

"Yeah, I would be [reluctant]," Holmgren said. "A little bit. Because he's a highly skilled player. And, in case something happens, it'd be difficult from an insurance standpoint."

Zherdev has clearly fallen out of favor with coach Peter Laviolette - and the Flyers couldn't even find Zherdev in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday night when Mike Richards came down with a stomach illness after warmups.

"We were scrambling around, about 8 minutes before the game and the only guy they could find was Jody," Holmgren said. "I think Nikolay has struggled with being in and out of the lineup. Perhaps his work ethic has dropped in practice as a result. But he needs to tough it out here and work hard if he wants to get back in the lineup."

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As I said before, Zherdev for a low-level defensemen makes sense to me.

Will also be interesting to see how Bartulis plays the next two weeks with O'Donnell injured. I've never been a big fan of Bartulis, and was surprised when the Flyers signed him to a multi-year contract after playing in just a few NHL games. I guess we'll see if he's trustworthy for spot duty in the playoffs.

And then there's Leino (my current obsession on this blog).

Not wanting to ruffle the feathers of Leino, his biggest playoff hero last year (seven goals, 14 assists), Holmgren asked Leino how he would feel about the team pulling the trigger on a deal. Now, Versteeg is here - and Leino is stuck until the offseason. Even so, it was a no-brainer for Leino, who makes more than only Darroll Powe, Oskars Bartulis and Blair Betts.

"He's got to sit tight now," Holmgren said. "We have about $2 million in tagging space, so that's probably not enough to get it done right now.

"I think there's an open dialogue. I think my conversations with Ville and his agent, he wants to be here. He knows we want him here. That's a topic for another day."

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And;

Holmgren reiterated that there is not enough room to sign Leino until after the season. He does not expect any problems resigning the winger.

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Interesting. Not to beat a dead horse, but there is no cap room to sign Leino without moving a significant piece off the current roster. It is also possible the Flyers are resorting to new tactics to convince Leino to resign;